Avengers was more in the moment and it was more celebratory, but the thing about the first x film is the build and expositional quality. Part ones of things such as the matrix/ninja turtles always have this. I can watch X1 in it's entirety because of this. Avengers to me is just moments I remember.
We're just going to have to agree to disagree I love the buildup in Avengers, and I love the way they reintroduced you to each character in the movie, and then bringing them all together. Scenes like Black Widow and Banner, Captain America and Coulson, The Helicarier for the first time, and Captain America meeting Iron Man and the latter fighting Thor we're very exciting moments to me.
I can't wait until TDKR releases and outgrosses TDK so that we can finally be done with these utterly idiotic "TDK made so much money because of Heath Ledger's death". No single celebrity on earth, alive or dead, is big enough to bring a billion dollars. Even if Ledger was alive, TDK would have easily made at least 950 million dollars without a doubt. What some people can't get into their noggins is the simple fact that one of the main reasons why TDK made so much money was because it was so damn good - the word of mouth for it was absolutely amazing. Critics, TV anchors, news shows, the general audience...whoever talked about touted it as the must-see film of the summer. Yes, Ledger's Joker was part of that equation but one must be a complete idiot to think it didn't have anything to do with the film's unexpectedly complex plot, its dark and mature themes, the performances of other actors and just the overall quality of the movie. Even now after The Avengers has made more than a billion dollars, TDK is still considered as the holy grail of superhero films because it is the one that elevated the genre, that showed that a superhero movie does not have to stick to tired old conventions of the summer blockbuster formula and that such films can have the caliber to make it to countless Critics and Guild awards' best-of-year nominations.
No matter how much money The Avengers makes, it won't force the Academy's hand to do something as historically unprecedented as expanding the number of Best Picture nominations, but TDK did. The Avengers won't make headline news at being "snubbed" at the Oscars, but TDK did. The Avengers won't get nominations from the Producers, Writers and Directors guild, but TDK did. If TDK is too dark or serious that people wouldn't want to watch it again and again, how the hell did it break home video sales records when it hit DVD and Blu-Ray? You think it managed to succeed on all those levels just because of one character/actor and that too one with screentime less than 1/5th of the film's overall runtime? Seriously?
I'm not doubting the effect of TDK. I love TDK, and it's one of the movies that really got me into the Superhero genre.
What I am saying, and DJ has said this too, is that (and I repeat with bold for the following statement)
I do not think either should be compared. To me, just because they're in the same genre, does not mean they are the same type of movie. You wouldn't compare Star Wars and The Godfather, or Indiana Jones and Seven? To me, at the surface they may seem similar do to them having Superheroes (both ensemble in their own way) both aiming to stop a madman hell bent on destruction, but they couldn't be any more different.
One is a fun, escapist alien invasion movie that relies more on action and humor, and the other is a serious tone crime drama. It's hard to compare the two when both seek different emotional reactions from the audience, and both, for the most, part, succeed at that.
I'm of the mind that TDK is the most rewatchable superhero film. That may because I can still taste the suspense and edge off the way it's edited, shot, acted and scored. It's just still a rollercoaster that has a lot of subtext to dissect and think about. Between being sensationally entertaining and intellectually stimulating, it's always fun to revisit.
I predict The Avengers will have the same fate as Raimi's first two Spideys. Fans will buy all the DVDs/Blu-Rays and then a year or so later turn on it because they don't get the goofy high from it anymore. TA is a popcorn flick. A great one. But still a popcorn flick that doesn't necessarily reward numerous viewings of it. It's also 2.5 hours long and has a very slow First Act and several action sequences that go on rather long. While great to see the first few times, it is going to become less rewarding after watching it a half dozen times. I expect there to be a big backlash to the film.
Of course there is going to be a big backlash to the movie. There's been a huge backlash to every hit comic book movie. There's even been one for TDK.
I think you're right to say that the Avengers will go the way of Raimi's Spidey in terms of popularity. Spider-man was a breath of fresh air to the Superhero genre that made the genre a big deal again. Same with Iron Man and TDK in 2008. I say that The Avengers will once again breath life into the Superhero genre, along with TDKR. Both will once again show that the Superhero genre is more vast than it looks.
And I disagree about it being less rewarding, when there are more things about the movie, like TDK, that you pick up after repeat viewings, like Easter Eggs, and the subtext of The Avengers, as Raiden said, is being overlooked and downplayed as just another fun action movie. So I would have to say that you're wrong about it being popcorn movie that doesn't hold up after repeat viewings. Without necessarily comparing The Avengers to the series of movies, what would be your opinion on other genre popcorn movies like Star Wars, Raiders, Jurassic Park, Terminator 2?
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